Critical androgen-sensitive periods of rat penis and clitoris development.

Androgen control of penis development/growth is unclear. In rats, androgen action in a foetal 'masculinisation programming window' (MPW; e15.5-e18.

The Oct4 homologue PouV and Nanog regulate pluripotency in chicken embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells (ESC) have been isolated from pregastrulation mammalian embryos. The maintenance of their pluripotency and ability to self-renew has been shown to be governed by the transcription factors Oct4 (Pou5f1) and Nanog. Oct4 appears to control cell-fate decisions of ESC in vitro and the choice between embryonic and trophectoderm cell fates in vivo.